World Gaming Championship to resume with Regionals

NEW YORK -- The NHL announced today that its global esports tournament - the 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship™ - played on EA SPORTS™ NHL® 20 will resume and continue through the Regional Finals round. The U.S., Canadian and European Regional Finals will be conducted remotely, providing the remaining qualifiers an opportunity to complete in the best-of-three format from the comfort of their homes while also allowing gaming fans to enjoy the GWC experience they have come to expect from this annual event.

The 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship™ Final will be cancelled to comply with social gathering and travel restrictions. However, in recognition of these changes, the prize pool available for Regional Finalists will increase, with the Regional Champion being awarded $10,000 USD and Runner-Up winning $2,500 USD. Prizes allocated for the third- to eighth-place finishers also will increase.

Twenty-four players - the top four players from each Region for the Xbox and PS4 consoles, including 2019 World Champion Matthew 'Top-Shelf-Cookie' Gutkoski - will play in the single-day Regional Final events.

"We want to thank our players, partners (Great Clips, Honda, Navy Federal Credit Union and Scotiabank) and global gaming audience for their patience and understanding during this unprecedented time," said Chris Golier, NHL Vice President of Business Development and Innovation. "Our Regional Finalists have looked forward to putting their skills to the test in the next Round and we are committed to completing the Regional Finals and crowning three Regional Champions as among the top EA SPORTS NHL® 20 players in the World. We have learned through this pause that gaming has become central to hockey fans' lives and we look forward to concluding a very competitive tournament and entertaining our fans."

Air dates for each of the Regional Finals will be released in the coming days. All competitions will be broadcast on the NHL's Twitch channel, NBCSN in the U.S., Sportsnet in Canada and Viasat in Europe as well as social platforms of the NHL and its global broadcast partners. Updates for the 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship™ can be found here and on the NHL's social channels. Fans can follow the tournament at #NHLGWC.

The NHL Gaming World Championship™ broadcast team returns with Emmy-nominated sports and esports commentator

providing play-by-play, hockey YouTube sensation

in the analyst role, and GWC newcomer and NBC Sports reporter

, who will help viewers get to know the competitors. Also returning is The GWC Lobby, a pregame show dedicated to profiling competitors, reviewing HUT team selections and breaking down player strategy. The GWC Lobby will be hosted by gaming experts

and

.

The 2020 Gaming World Championship™ Regional Finals will continue to be administered by FACEIT with Engine Shop producing all aspects of the broadcast.

2020 NHL Gaming World Championship™ Regional Players

Europe Online Play-In Bracket Final (Xbox)
Gamer Tag
1. PleeMaker (Paul Arontie)
2. eken45jr (Henrik Eklund)
3. ssampee37 (Samuli Mantyla)
4. SUPERVIRTA (Joonas Virta)

Europe Online Play-In Bracket Final (PS4)
1. MrNipsuli (Roni Kajan)
2. ArtuzioFIN* (Arttu Mustila)
3. Kemppane_ (Juuso Kemppainen)
4. Suppe19 (Samu Salmela)

U.S. Online Play-In Bracket Final (Xbox)
1. Pure Fiishin (Eric Fisher)
2. TSCCookie# (Matthew Gutkoski)
3. 0Fs_hK (Josh Fuss)
4. LAK1NGS23 (Josh Gonzalez)

U.S. Online Play-In Bracket Final (PS4)
1. JrPens91* (David Roebuck)
2. Mekilu (Gage Baker)
3. dirtyduster1 (Jonah Pollack)
4. Johnwaynee90*^ (John Casagranda)

Canada Online Play-In Bracket Final (Xbox)
1. CoreyPerry1 (Carson Bellaire)
2. Mxtayer (Jonathan Metayer)
3. Sitful (Harley Sitko)
4. Odieeeeee (Chris O'Donnell)

Canada Online Play-In Bracket Final (PS4)
1. Regs84 (Justin Reguly)
2. YungGren*^ (Matthew Grenier)
3. desyd19 (Brett Deschene)
4. Drewy_12 (Luke Drewitt)

\ 2018 GWC Finalist^ 2019 GWC Finalist# 2019 GWC World Champion*

All Regional Finalists subject to change/replacement in accordance with the 2020 GWC Tournament Rules